Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Bits and Bites

Friday. After work. I met friends and we went for a walk in the woods.
I have a feeling this is going to be 'A Thing' we do on Friday nights.
(Well not on rainy Friday nights.)
(And not on long weekend Friday nights.)
(And not when something better comes up.)
(Although, WHAT could be better than walking trails with friends?)

I love Friday nights.
It's not just about the walking.
It's about the talking.
Always.
It's always about the talking.

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I just spent alot of money at Costco.
Mostly food.
But also books. And DVD's.
AND CLOTHES.

I now own a pair of shorts.
And a t-shirt.
And a pair of capri-ish, yoga-ish, stretchy pants that are the most comfortable things in the whole entire world and I might go back and get more. In every colour available. Because I love them.

All the other clothes? (Sweaters, pants, capri's, jeans, shirts?) I'll have to take back because they look dog ugly. On me.

I predict that my kids will eat all this food in less than 24 hours. It's cabin food. Mostly fun. Very little nutrient value.

Have I mentioned? Their Mother's Day gift to me is time. They've all agreed to spend Saturday night at the lake with me.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I've been looking forward to this. They had talked amongst themselves DAYS IN ADVANCE and told me last Tuesday.

So. Yeah. Costco.

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It's after 2 am and I'm at the cabin with 3/4 of my family.
Still waiting for Clint who had a photography gig in Vancouver at midnight.

The kids have gone to bed, but I'll stay up til Clint gets here. I'm watching Planet Earth, again. I am always in awe of how awesome our world is, every single time I watch this series. (Whoa. Just watched some squirrels mating. Quite romantic and gentle, considering they're animals.)

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I was going to take my mom out for dinner and a movie on Sunday.
But ended up crashing Jule's BBQ dinner for mom instead.
Unexpectedly, my kids came too.

Truly. Honestly. Seriously.
Best Mother's Day in the 27 years that I've been a mother.

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This book?
Gutted me.

"Michelle was 21 when she was kidnapped by a local school bus driver named Ariel Castro. For more than a decade afterward, she endured unimaginable torture at the hand of her abductor. In 2003 Amanda Berry joined her in captivity, followed by Gina DeJesus in 2004. Their escape on May 6, 2013, made headlines around the world.

Barely out of her own tumultuous childhood, Michelle was estranged from her familywhen she disappeared. Local police believed she had run away, so they removed her from the missing persons lists fifteen months after she vanished. Castro tormented her with these facts, reminding her that no one was looking for her, that the outside world had forgotten her.

But Michelle would not be broken.

In Finding Me, Michelle will reveal the heartbreaking details of her story, including the thoughts and prayers that helped her find courage to endure her unimaginable circumstances and now build a life worth living. By sharing both her past and her efforts to create a future, Michelle becomes a voice for the voiceless and a powerful symbol of hope for the thousands of children and young adults who go missing every year."

Oh. My. Goodness.

SO SO Awful what she had to endure.

Over ten years of being beaten and raped multiple times DAILY.

9 months of being naked and chained to a pole in a filthy basement, covered in dirt, sweat, tears, blood, semen ... not allowed to shower. Minimal meals - mostly McDonald's breakfast sandwiches once a day.

I can't even.

As wonderful as my Mother's Day weekend was, this book, Michelle's/Gina's/Amanda's stories, the 300 kidnapped girls, the thousands and thousands of other girls around the world sold into sex slavery, all the evil out there, haunted me.

Dear God,

We just keep making a huge mess, don't we? So. Much. Evil.

Are you tired of us? How are we any better than the people who lived just before Noah's flood?

So many terrible, heart-breaking, gut-wrenching, bad things are happening.

What can I do?

What do you want me to do, besides pray?

Please, please, please protect those kidnapped school girls. Protect their bodies, their minds, their hearts. Return them to their homes. And bring their kidnappers to justice.

Give wisdom to those who are searching.

Your will be done.

Your will be done.

Amen.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. The beautiful card (and the words inside) that Danica made for me. She made it.

2. Evening at my sister's place. From dinner with the family, to hot-tubbing with just the women-folk, it was an awesome evening.

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About Me

I love the sunshine, making detailed lists, getting on airplanes, being a part of great conversations and hanging with my kids.
I don't like coffee, cilantro or coconut. Not cool, Jane. So not cool.
I pray. Alot.
I'm the Director of Creative Production at a non-profit where my love of list making comes in handy.
Welcome to my blog. xo